Center Moriches School Voters Guide 2010

VOTING

1 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Clayton Huey Elementary School gymnasium.

THE BUDGET

The district is proposing a $35,791,700 budget for 2010-11, a 3.19 percent increase over the current budget of $34,686,000. The proposed budget would increase the tax levy 3.72 percent, from the current $18,258,910 to $18,938,262.

School taxes under the proposed budget would increase 3.72 percent to $233.50 per $100 of assessed valuation, up from $225.12 per $100 of assessed valuation currently. The average home in the district is assessed at $3,000.

The proposed budget includes a 3.5 percent increase for teacher salaries, plus an average step increase of 2.47 percent. It also calls for staff reductions through attrition of one teacher position and one maintenance post. To hold down costs, the district says it is also making a "substantial reduction" in professional development programs and in supplies. Officials also say they plan to reduce overtime hours.

District website:

www.cmschools.org.

THE CANDIDATES

Incumbents Joseph W. McHeffey and Wendy R. Turkington and challenger Kelly Platt are vying for two seats with three-year terms.

Joseph W. McHeffeyBACKGROUND: McHeffey, 57, has been a district resident for 54 years. He and his wife, Jeanette, have four adult children, all of whom attended district schools. An attorney and an accountant, McHeffey obtained his accounting degree from Dowling College and his law degree from St. John's University School of Law. He has served on the school board for 15 years, the past 14 as president.

ISSUES: McHeffey said the "most important issue facing almost all school districts is the financial crisis and determining how we can continue to deliver an outstanding education for our students" at an affordable cost. Cost-saving measures to date, he said, include starting what he called a successful program for children with autism that is to be expanded next year into the middle and high schools. He said the district saves money by not having to pay the costs of sending its children to BOCES programs and also gets revenue from other districts sending their children to Center Moriches' program. He also highlighted energy efficiency programs. He said another important issue for the district is replacing the superintendent, who will soon be leaving, with "someone of equal quality and ability."

Kelly Platt

BACKGROUND: Platt, 43, has lived in the district for eight years. She works in the television news industry as an assignment desk editor. She has a bachelor's degree but declined to identify the university. She and her husband, Andrew, have three children, all of whom attend district schools. This is her third run for the school board, after being unsuccessful in prior efforts. Platt has served on the district's Facility Advisory Committee for the past four years.

ISSUES: Platt said the most pressing issue is to hold down costs. She called for greater "fiscal transparency and fiscal restraint among Board of Education members," especially in light of the state's budget crisis that may mean reduced school aid. "I want to propose a wage freeze for anybody in administration," she said, adding that the current board had granted "exorbitant pay increases" to administrators. "We have to put a cap on what they earn. We're such a small district. We can't have an administrator making more than the governor." She was also critical of "unfunded mandates" from the state, which she said also increased costs. She also called for limiting service on the board to 12 years.

Wendy R. Turkington

BACKGROUND: Turkington, 53, has lived in the district for 17 years. She is a school library media specialist in another district. She received a master's of library science degree from the Palmer School of Library Science at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. She and her husband, Arthur, have three children, two of whom have graduated from district schools; a third attends Center Moriches High School. She has served on the school board since 2004.

ISSUES: "The most important issue for Center Moriches is the same issue for school districts across the United States," Turkington said. "How do we provide a quality education for students currently attending our schools while maintaining fiscal stability?" In her time on the board, she said student performance has improved markedly while taxes have risen an average of only 1.6 percent per year. She said the district was also containing costs through an energy efficiency project. She said the project, which begins this summer, involves energy efficiency modifications, including windmills and solar panels, "all paid for through the resulting energy cost savings."